Monday, May 16, 2011

Personality Test

I love studying people. Love it. One of my favorite things to do is to blend into the background and simply observe human behavior. This works especially well in airports, at the grocery store and at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

We seem to have a bevy of buffets here in southcentral Pennsylvania. A few weeks ago we decided to take our kids to Village Greens in Strasburg, PA for miniature golfing. When I called the golf course for a restaurant recommendation, they recommended Hershey Farms. We rarely visit buffets, but thought it would be a nice change from our usual restaurant rut (which is to say that we eat out maybe twice a month, and it's always burgers or pizza).

I was actually pleasantly surprised in the food selections - everything appeared homemade, including rolls, whoopie pies, fried chicken, pretzels(!), and shoo-fly pie. Many of the foods were typical Pennsylvania Dutch, which for some may appear exotic, but to us, are just very familiar.

It's so interesting to see how people eat at a buffet. I saw people with three pieces of prime rib on their plate. I saw vegetarians trying in vain to find suitable choices. I saw people from other countries excited to sample our startch-heavy cuisine.

I almost think it's similar to a personality test of sorts. It seemed like there were people who were simply interested in eating as much as they could, as fast as they could. There were some who were there for a meal and didn't want to compromise their eating habits. Then there were the people who were there simply to investigate another culture through it's food.

Emma's first plate contained fried chicken, green beans and carrots. We love us some fried chicken.

I chose: prime rib, green beans, shrimp, and mussels

the main dinner offerings

the dessert table - Emma was dying to get to the chocolate fountain

my third plate - salad with a pickled egg

Emma, finally able to sample the chocolate fountain

the kids in front of the cheesy Amish statue

We were all very full!

We had such a fun family night. The miniature golfing was really fun, too. The golf course is a little different that the typical windmill-type experience. The setting is very rural - there are ponds, woods, bridges, creeks, and a par of 74!

Do you visit buffets? What do you think you would have started your meal with? Do you enjoy people-watching?

I very rarely go for buffet's. I end up eating more than I would normally. I don't stuff my face though. I would have started with a salad, then gone back for carbs!!!! I would always leave room for something sweet.I remember once in Singapore watching a local guy get a bowl, fill it, then very carefully arrange large slices of cucumber around the edge, so that they were 3/4 out of the bowl. Then he filled up with more until it reached the top of the cucumber slices. I agree that pickled egg looks very suspect.